$50 vs. $5

[Steven]

The beauty of old games, like Saturn or SNES titles... is that they sold for $50 or more in their hey day, but many can now be picked up for as low as $5. Does that affect you in how you feel about the game itself? For example, take B.O.B on SNES for example. It's just one of countless hundreds me-too platformers... and while I have beaten it and enjoyed it tremendously -- at $50 I would feel slightly cheated.

At $5? It was a great buy, Naturally, it affects the overall way I feel about the game... as I'm more friendly to gameplay "faults" because hey, I didn't pay an arm and leg for it.

So do you judge games good or bad based somewhat on how much it cost you?

Maybe it's not the best rating system, but that's how I operate. I give B.O.B an 8/10.... but had it been 1993 again and I paid $50, I'd probably slag it more toward the 7/10 range and definitely be less hesitant to recommend it.

Just curious on different perspectives here.

[Maxx]

Good question but then again, I don't spend much time on a $5 game. When Final Fantasy came out for NES, I paid the $50 and played it so long I beat it twice. Now days I can't go back to this game and play it all the way through. There are too many other games that have better graphics/gameplay that I would rather spend my time on.

For instance I just bought The Godfather Collectors Edition for the Xbox for $15. I only bought it for collectors aspect and there it sits on my shelf still factory sealed. Now if I had bought it for $50, it would have been a game I wanted to play so desperately bad. I haven't bought a game for $50+ since Halo 2 came out.

[drewbrim]

It's gotten so bad for me that I can't even bring myself to pay $50 or whatever for a new game. Not when I can buy something else used that I want to play. Every time a new game comes out that I want to play. I just shell out the cash for an older game that I've been wanting to try.

When FF XII came out last Tuesday every fiber of my being wanted to give that a go. But cooler heads (and wallets) prevailed and I spent $10 on Kingdom Hearts II. Which I've also wanted to play, and should keep me busy enough until plenty of used FF 12's are available for $20 or so.

I haven't bought a game brand new the month it came out since Ocarina of Time. Although I don't regret that decision, it's hard to repeat it when there is so many other things I can play. On a side note I am hoping to acquire a Wii and Twilight Princess at launch. If I'm able to get one, it will be the first console I've ever bought at launch.

Reading this back it doesn't really answer your question . Oh well, just my two cents I suppose.

[NES_Rules]

Once I figured out that I can commonly find classic games for a few dollars, I quit buying new games all together. I'd much rather spend $5 each for 10 games than $50 for 1 game. Especially since most of the classic games are more fun than new ones anyway.

[Malon_Forever]

How much you pay does have an effect on what I think about it, but not a lot. I mean, if a game is great, you really don't care how much you pay (5-50 dollars), but if its bad, its bad. You can't change how good or bad a game is by a price, but it can make you feel that way.

[CosmicMonkey]

Much as I love the Metal Slugs, there's no way I'd pay AES prices for them. Same for all the King of Fighters, Fatal Furys etc...

MVS carts and Shockboxes are the way to go for Neo love.

[cyberfluxor]

I don't judge a game on price but it is a huge determinator as to whether I purchase a game or not, and when used if the condition is worth it. I'm a cheap ass gamer with older systems where I'm only willing to spend over $5 on games I know I'll end up playing through and will enjoy. Games that cost me new I know for a fact I'll like it otherwise it won't be bought until it's under $5 new or used.
Example:
Lunar 1 & 2 for the PS1, bought them about 3 months ago for $35 and $60 repectively. Silver Star Story is 100% complete in near mint condition, Eternal Blue was still sealed mint.

They were so worth it to me. On the other hand...
Razor Freestyle Scooter for $3 a few years ago at Game Stop, on my god bad choice. I was at the time looking for cheap games similar to Tony Hawk and this feel sooo short for a game to do tricks in. Several months ago spent $1 on Jet Grind Radio and would have spent up to $5 for it.

It's really simple the method I choose games to purchase but once again, price doesn't dictate my overall review of it however my knowledge base of the game while deciding a purchase is critical.

[TurboGenesis]

Price does not influence whether I buy a game or if it will be good or what ever. I have paid high prices for games for years now. $73 for Final Fantasy III, $70 for TG16 R-Type, $99 for Virtua Racing on Genesis (then I proceeded to buy a $160 32x + Virtua Racing), $680 3DO, the list goes on. When the 32 bit gen came along and boasted $49 prices on all games I was estatic.

I'm by no means rich or loaded with cash but price point is not a concern when I buy games generally. If I want a game when new I'm gonna pay suggested retail. If a game is slightly new and I go to pick it up and there is a used one for less (in NM condition) I'll get that over a new sealed one. If its a classic game that is going for high dollars, I'll try to spend what I have to with in reason - I paid $160 for Bonk 3 CD cause I needed it to complete my Turbo CD collection, I paid $75 for Lunar 2 (Sega CD) to complete my Working Designs collection - but then Lunar 2 was pretty high at retail anyways and I got a mint near new copy that was claimed to have only been played once and the disc shows no marks.

Maybe thats why I don't have thousands of games cause I almost never look for the bargin, I just try to spend with in reason and not get ripped off too bad but I do pay high prices on what ever I get whether it be a brand new $60 360 game or a $5 Golgo 13 cart only or a $100+ turbo game. In the end if I want it - I get it so long as I have the cash on me

I sure would love to have Metal Slug AES but like I said I'm not rich so I don't have the funds to buy it but if I had the cash I would pay the $1000+. I got into the AES knowing that it would be major expensive to get games. I only have 9 AES games and my most expensive was $95 for Last Resort.

[smokehouse]

If you’re talking about past purchases, I always bought the games that I saw myself spending a lot of time with. The only NES game I ever purchased new was Super Mario 2 and that was back in 1988 (or was it ’89?...). As for the SNES, I bought Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, Secret of Mana, Contra III (Toy’s R Us closeout) and Turtles IV (Toys R Us closeout).

Of all those, I got tons of gameplay from them, well worth the $$.

I had to be completely sure that I was going to play the shit out of a game before I’d buy it for full retail.

Now, I’d like to know who in the hell bought some of the game I’ve seen used. Some of those NES and SNES (not to mention all other systems) titles were complete shit and somebody actually paid $50+ for them…

[jajaja]

I feel the other way. I mean, if i payed $5 for a game and its not that fun i would probly play it for 10 minutes and then its back to collecting dust. But if i payed $50 for the same game when it was new i would play it more than 10 minutes for sure.

I have never felt cheated for paying like $50 for a new game that wasnt that fun. It sux sometimes, but i never felt cheated.

[Slate]

Yes, The price changes the rating IMO, for example Amped 3 on Xbox 360 is NOT worth buying at $40, Not even $20, It was a stinker. But at $5 It's worth buying.

And then take Tony Hawks underground for example, I got it when it was $50, Back in April 2004! It was NOT worth it because I hated eric in the end, But since It was the newest Skateboarding game I had (For TWO YEARS) I got my money's worth out of it. I beat it about 20 times.

[Push Upstairs]

I know there are alot of games i have not than i would have in the past simply because they are so damn cheap.

I think about some of the Genesis games i've bought for like $5 and had that moment where i was either "Would I have dropped $50 for this?" or "I think i would have spent $50 for this."

But i find taking risks with games alot easier at $5 as opposed to $50.

[djbeatmongrel]

for me its not how much the game was when i bought it compared to now, its how much the game is when i bought it. there are some games i'll wait for a price drop on but theres other games i have to get right away. its just on a game to game basis

[pookninja]

yes,i do actually judge a game a little bit based on price.there are games that come out at $50-60 dollars that i would rate as low or average,but if the same game released at $20,i would rate it a bit better in my mind.but always remember,no matter the price,you cant polish a turd.if its a shitty games,its shitty if it cost fifty cents or fifty dollars.

[xtremegamer]

Now a days I only buy brand new games in the clearance racks or the super cheap ones like EB's Max Pain 2. I don't base my decision on how much it is, but how often it turns up used. Take Scarface for example, I have been wanting to try this out, I have passed because of the $50 new price tag and the fact that I have seen 12 copies used in my home town alone. That tells me it's either an easy play or a terrible game. The cheapest I have found it is $27.99, and I know if I wait a while longer, I will find it in a pawn shop around here for $10.

[Nesmaster]

To me, it won't make a difference regarding the price, it just means that the cheaper I get each game for, the more games I can go buy .

[Jorpho]

It seems to me that back in the day when I paid $40 per game, I spent a lot more time playing each of them.

At this point I have a great many games which have praised to the skies and hailed as tremendous achievements in game design, but since I got them for $5-10 (or less!) I've never even managed to open them.

[jajaja]

It seems to me that back in the day when I paid $40 per game, I spent a lot more time playing each of them.

At this point I have a great many games which have praised to the skies and hailed as tremendous achievements in game design, but since I got them for $5-10 (or less!) I've never even managed to open them.

Exactly, its because you have too many Im just like that myself. Before when i was a kid i could buy 1 game for retail price and that was it. I couldnt go the next day or next week to pick up a new game so you had to play the game you first bought.

[FantasiaWHT]

I take the price of a game into account when "rating" it. I can think of a bunch of those $10 budget PS1 games at the end of its life, and some of them, although I'd never pay $50 for one, were quite fun for the price (Battle Hunter, Board Game: Top Shop)

That said, I did pay $100 for Phantasy Star IV on launch day and I've never regreted it.

[PentiumMMX]

I felt cheated out of $20 for Super Mario Sunshine (One of the worst GCN games ever) and just $7 to rent Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (THE worst GCN game ever)